KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 ― Polish Javelin thrower Maria Andrejczyk auctioned off her Olympic silver medal from the Tokyo games for US$125,000 (RM530,000) to aid an infant’s surgery cost.
The 25-year-old athlete posted on her Facebook last Wednesday that she stumbled upon a fundraiser for eight-month-old Miloszek Malysa who has a serious heart defect.
“'It didn't take me long to decide, it was the first fundraiser I entered, and I knew it was the right one,” she said in a Facebook post.
“Miloszek has a serious heart defect and needs surgery.
“He already has a head start from Kubus — a boy who didn’t make it in time but whose amazing parents decided to pass on the funds they collected.
“And in this way, I also want to help. It’s for him that I am auctioning my Olympic silver medal.”
The total cost of the surgery needed for Malysa is about US$383,421.00 (RM1.6 million) however half of the cost has been collected and Andrejczyk aims to raise funds to cover the rest of the cost.
The fund is needed to cover Malysa’s travel and surgery costs which will be conducted at the Stanford University Medical Center in the United States.
It was a happy twist however for the athlete however after Andrejczyk confirmed on her Instagram and Facebook on Monday that she has managed to auction off her silver medal for a sum of US$125,000 (RM530,000) to Polish supermarket chain, Zabka.
“It is with great pleasure to give you this medal, which for me is a symbol of struggle, faith and the pursuit of dreams despite many adversities.
“I hope that for you, it will be a symbol of the life we fought together,” she wrote on her Facebook.
Zabka in a separate Facebook post on their page said it has decided to give the medal back to Andrejczyk.
“We were moved by the beautiful and extremely noble gesture of our Olympija girl.
“That is why we decided to support the collection of funds for the benefits of Miloszek.
“We also decided that the silver medal from Tokyo will stay with Ms.Maria who has shown how great she is.”
Maria Andrejczyk has won the silver medal from the Tokyo games this year, after she missed her chance for a medal back in the 2016 Rio Olympics by just two centimetres.
Andrejczyk was reported to have just recovered from a 2018 diagnosis of bone cancer prior to joining the Tokyo Olympics to win her first medal.
